Chapter 213

Hearing these words from the Chengzu Emperor, Yin Ruihua felt not the slightest joy, but instead showed a look of fear.

"Your Majesty! Jianwen... wasn't he supposed to be sealed here and left to die on his own!?"

That the Chengzu Emperor did not kill the Jianwen Emperor himself, but buried him alive and left him to die on his own, Yin Ruihua could understand.

Given the status of the Jianwen Emperor's father, the founding Crown Prince, in the Chengzu Emperor's heart and in the hearts of the people of the world, it was reasonable for the Chengzu Emperor not to want to kill his descendant himself.

But, why supply him with Heaven-Man Realm experts to extend his life?

For Yin Ruihua at that time, the fear of the Jianwen Emperor far outweighed the temptation of life extension. Thinking that he was to become the jailer guarding him and live in the fear that he might escape for at least a hundred years, Yin Ruihua's tone became anxious.

However, Brother Yin was still Brother Yin, but the middle-aged man had already become "Your Majesty."

With just one glance from the Chengzu Emperor, Yin Ruihua lowered his head abruptly and remained silent.

The Chengzu Emperor did not intend to explain to Yin Ruihua, but looked down at the Jianwen Emperor in the coffin.

"Remember well."

"For the first thirty years, I will not send you anything. You just lie in this coffin and slowly wear away all the nature and life you obtained from the Zhu family."

"Thirty years later, Brother Yin will send you the first Heaven-Man Realm expert. After that, Brother Yin will always keep you hanging by a thread, letting you slowly weaken until your lifespan is exhausted."

"You, just lie there in peace."

The Chengzu Emperor raised his hand to press on the coffin lid and looked deeply at the Jianwen Emperor.

Then, he slowly closed it.

The light narrowed bit by bit on the Jianwen Emperor's face; he kept looking at the Chengzu Emperor and Yin Ruihua with an expressionless face until he completely disappeared from Zhu Shoujing's field of vision.

The Chengzu Emperor and Yin Ruihua turned and left.

Zhu Shoujing lowered his head, silent.

The illusion still had not dissipated.

Suddenly, the Jianwen Emperor appeared beside Zhu Shoujing and looked at him.

Zhu Shoujing knew that this was not the Jianwen Emperor in the illusion, but the real Jianwen Emperor appearing in the illusion with the help of "Jizhao."

"How does the official view the events of that year?"

The Jianwen Emperor said.

In the illusion, he was not limited by that corpse-like body, and his voice was no longer hoarse and stagnant, but had recovered the young, majestic, and cold tone of that year.

Zhu Shoujing was silent for a moment and shook his head.

"The official cannot see clearly, nor can I say clearly."

The Xiaolingwei had guarded the Imperial Mausoleum for over a hundred years; although they were not clear about these matters, they would see some things and have some guesses. Corroborating this with the situation in the illusion had already convinced Zhu Shoujing of the Jianwen Emperor's identity.

But, relying only on the few words of the Chengzu Emperor and Yin Ruihua, Zhu Shoujing still could not outline the complete contour of the events of that year, and even had more questions because of it.

For example—

"Why didn't the Chengzu Emperor practice this cultivation method himself?"

Zhu Shoujing blurted out.

"Because at that time, the Heaven-Man Realm experts and the Zhu family's bloodline had already been exhausted by me. If he practiced it, he would have to kill all the Zhu family's bloodline and the Heaven-Man Realm experts under his command."

"His so-called 'Jingnan' relied on those clan members and Heaven-Man Realm experts who were dissatisfied with me. If he had this thought, he would have ended up in the same situation as me."

The Jianwen Emperor replied.

"Then, why didn't the Chengzu Emperor..."

Zhu Shoujing swallowed the word "kill."

The Jianwen Emperor looked at him and said.

"The official wants to say, why didn't he kill me?"

"Yes."

"He made a bet with me."

The Jianwen Emperor said slowly.

"The bet was whether his descendants could sit firmly on this world before my lifespan was exhausted."

At this time, the time in the illusion accelerated rapidly; the moss on the stone walls climbed quickly and then withered quickly; the Jianwen Emperor's clothes in the coffin rotted, and the flesh and blood on his body collapsed.

"If his descendants could sit firmly on the Great Dashuo's empire, the mere Jianghu would naturally be under control, and collecting Heaven-Man Realm experts would not be a difficult task."

"Then, I would lie in this tomb until my lifespan ended."

"That would be me losing to him."

"The stake I had to pay was this hundred-plus years of torment and the death I waited for in this coffin."

The Jianwen Emperor said slowly.

"I am the descendant of the Crown Prince Yiwen, and the Taizu Emperor designated me to inherit the throne. He was, after all, an illegitimate ruler. He could be ruthless toward me, but toward my father and the Taizu Emperor, he always wanted to prove that he was right."

"Therefore, he made this bet with me."

Zhu Shoujing paused and asked.

"Then, how would Your Majesty be considered to have lost?"

The Jianwen Emperor said slowly.

"Naturally, before I die in this tomb, his descendants are already unable to sit firmly on this world, unable to suppress the Jianghu, and unable to collect Heaven-Man Realm experts."

"Yin Ruihua and I both need Heaven-Man Realm experts to extend our lives."

"But he will die before I do."

"If the Great Dashuo is already turbulent and unable to suppress the Jianghu, to the point where Heaven-Man Realm experts can no longer be collected, Yin Ruihua will open the tomb at the last moment before he dies."

"That would be me winning."

"And the stake he has to pay is to return this Great Dashuo to my hands."

Zhu Shoujing was silent.

A gambling game spanning nearly two hundred years was recounted by the Jianwen Emperor and presented before him.

But immediately, Zhu Shoujing frowned.

"Your Majesty, the current Great Dashuo has not reached such a point, and Eunuch Yin did not die of old age, but died at Your Majesty's hands, this..."

The Jianwen Emperor did not answer.

The illusion around them flowed; the moss in the cracks of the walls was losing its greenness at a speed visible to the naked eye, the walls were seeping out salt-like crystals, and the dew accumulated on the stone walls evaporated and then dripped again.

The Jianwen Emperor in the coffin had turned into a corpse-like appearance.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

Outside the tomb, voices could be heard.

"Your Majesty, it is here."

Footsteps reached the door and stopped.

Then another calm voice sounded.

"Eunuch Yin, it has been over a hundred years."

"Do you want to leave here?"

Zhu Shoujing's pupils shrank; he recognized that voice!

"The bet the Chengzu Emperor made with him, in my opinion, was extremely unwise. My world does not need a dead man lying in a tomb to fight for it."

"Those Heaven-Man Realm experts should not be used by him either..."

That voice said slowly.

"Eunuch Yin, you have guarded here for over a hundred years. I feel that the Chengzu Emperor was too harsh on you..."

The footsteps gradually moved away, and then the sound of the tomb being sealed shut rang out.

Zhu Shoujing turned his head abruptly to look at the Jianwen Emperor.

The Jianwen Emperor said slowly.

"That's right, the human heart is difficult to fathom; no matter how reliable loyalty is, it cannot withstand this hundred-plus years of time."

"Yin Ruihua has changed."

"He told someone about the events here."

"Along with the method of using Heaven-Man Realm experts to accumulate 'nature and life,' it was all handed over by him."

The coldness on the face of the Jianwen Emperor in the coffin faded, and anger gradually climbed into his eyes and brows; his lips moved, and he spat out a few words hoarsely and stagnantly.

"Zhu..."

"Emperor..."

"Traitor!..."

The real Jianwen Emperor looked at himself in the coffin and said slowly.

"The gambling game was overturned by his descendants."

"His descendants, however, walked my path."

(End of chapter)